Au Pair in London

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An au pair is in charge of taking care of the children and lives within the home of the family. The au pair is provided accommodation and meals and a stipend of spending money. The family gains a loving caretaker for their children and an addition to the family. Expats are more likely to employ au pairs.

Nannies in England

Nannies is different from au pair. Nannies are fairly popular in the UK, with professional qualification and much more expensive than au pair. Different agencies charge different fees an have different standards, so make sure to compare companies. The average cost of a nanny is between £250 - 400 a week. A factor in determining price is where you are located within the UK. Nannies in London often demand the highest prices. Another factor determining price is if the nanny is live-in or live-out.

To mitigate cost, nanny-sharing is becoming popular.

What the au pair must know

    Basic application criteria vary from agency to agency, there are a few typical requirements:
  • Be conversant in English
  • Be between 18-27 years old
  • Have a High School diploma or equivalent
  • Be able to commit to at least a 6 month placement
  • Have at least 6 months child care experience
  • Be able to provide 3 references regarding your experience and character
  • Be in good physical and mental condition as evidenced by a Physician's Report. Agree to a background check.
In addition to these requirements, it is common for families to ask for non-smoking, possession of driver's license, responsible or non-drinkers, and for females. Some agencies may also require time spent tutoring, cooking or cleaning.

What the family has to do

The family has to welcome the au pair in thinking that she is not just an employee, but an important part of the family.

    Therefore they will make sure:
  • The au pair must have her own bedroom.
  • The au pair will work to a maximum of maximum of 25-35 hours per week She should have minimum 2 days (2 x 24 hours) off during the week (make available the au-pair's agreed free time and days off ).
  • They understand that having an au pair does not mean having a servant. Au pairs may be asked to do some housework as agreed upon in the contract.
  • It may be of benefit to register the au pair at the family doctor.
  • The family should pay a salary, with the amount written into the contract. (usually about £280 to £380 per week)

An excellent place to look for a professional nanny is on EasyExpat's job listings. You can also look for au pair in our classifieds. You can ask questions and find advice on the forums or directly with our network of expats.

Agencies

Before trusting your child's care to another, be sure to confirm their credentials. An agency should conduct a background check, but you can also verify a companies credentials through watch group organizations.

Visa

If hired through an agency, the agency usually guides the au pair through the process.

If necessary (members of the EU, EEA and of Switzerland do not need a visa) , the most common visa for an au pair is through a Youth Mobility Scheme. You must be a national of a country taking part in the scheme, and have a valid national passport from that country. You can apply if you:

  • are a citizen of a country taking part in the scheme or a British overseas citizen, British overseas territories citizen or a British national (overseas)
  • are 18 years old or over when your visa lets you come to the United Kingdom (becomes valid) and under 31 years old when you apply
  • have at least £1,600 in available funds
    The countries in the scheme are:
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • Monaco

Visas are valid for a minimum of 2 months and the au pair cannot stay more than 2 years. For more about this visa, go to the UK Border Agency's page on the Youth Mobility Scheme.

For applicants just out of school, a Tier 1 Post-Study visa may be the perfect fit. It provides international graduates with the opportunity to work throughout the UK after they have completed their studies. It can also be used for internships.

For more information on visas in general, consult the section on "Passport and Visas".


Update 10/05/2012


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Comments

 stephenduke

12/05/2012

Au Pair Website
Hi Everyone,

www.KangarooAuPair.com offers families and au pairs a chance to find each other without using an agency (no high agency costs). We currently have 1000's of Au Pairs and families registered.

If you are looking for an au pair or you would like to be an au pair please have a look or contact us for more information.

It's very easy to use and it's free to register and search.

All the best in your search,

Kangaroo Au Pair Team

 Aupairads

05/01/2011

Find a great Scandinavian au pair
Aupairads.com is a new online matching service where families living in London can easily put up an ad to advertise for a Swedish au pair!


 gemma101

19/04/2010

au pair agency

Hi Im gemma and I'm an au pair. I've used NannyGPS.com to find my au pair. We got a really great girl that is working out for our family.


 paulasaf

03/10/2009

www.search-aupair-family.info
http://www.search-aupair-family.info connects au pairs and nannies to families safely online. No personal contact information is displayed.

Free registration. Free Search. Free matching.

No agencies - just families and job seekers communicating directly with each other.

 abcfamilies

18/10/2008

New website: Families and Au-pairs Babysitters Tutors - Free
ABC - Families, a new kind of childcare
Au Pairs / Nannies / Babysitters and Tutors listing

We have many approved families looking for au pairs in France + Europe.

ABC - Families is new childcare website based in South of France, covering all of Europe.

Message for candidate :
Before to apply, you need cv, references and pictures.

We are NOT a database, all our applicants are approved by us.
References are mandatory and are throughly checked.

We are French/English/Spanish speaking company.

We look forward to working with you.

FREE to register :
http://www.abc-families.com/FreeRegistration.html

ABC-Families, a new kind of childcare.

http://www.ABC-Families.com

 Zoe Beauvoisin

13/04/2004

Pebblesunlimited
¨Professional and friendly au pair agency recruiting French au pairs for England, and British/Irish au pairs fro France.

See our site for info : www.pebblesunlimited.com

 miryam rosas

11/02/2004

aupair contact services
aupair services, find an aupair with references worldwide and a host family
http://www.aupair-contact.com

 Virag Kiss

02/12/2003

Do you need an AU PAIR from Hungary?
Vigi Au Pair in Hungary provide a friendly service to match the right au-pair to the right family, great for Au Pairs who want support and to learn English in England.

Contact: http://www.vigiaupair.com/englishaupair/

 AupairConnect

12/10/2003

Au pair visas
US citizens can obtain a blue card from BUNAC. Further information can be found here: http://www.bunac.com/uk/default.asp

Citizens of the European Union countries can enter the UK without any formalities.

Members of the commonwealth (Australia, Canada, South Africa, etc.) will need to obtain a Holidaymaker Work Visa". Further information and visa forms are available here: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

Nationals of the following countries can enter the UK on an au pair visa:Andorra, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, the Faroes, Greenland, Hungary, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey. Further information and visa forms are available here: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

Other nationalities can find further information regarding their eligibility here: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

If you need to find an au pair or an au pair job anywhere in the world or need more information, visit http://www.aupairconnect.com

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